Dezide optimizes service efficiency at Liebherr

AC883’s client Dezide is a knowledge management system that uses intelligent algorithms to improve service. The software has a huge range of applications across a number of different industries, and we work closely with them in North America to expand their customer base. In the mining industry, where unplanned downtimes cost companies millions of dollars before they are repaired, Dezide provides the market with leading knowledge management systems for optimizing technical troubleshooting processes.

We spoke to Arthur Viret, Project Engineer, After Sales at Liebherr Mining Equipment about his experience with Dezide Advisor. He was responsible for implementing a new system for troubleshooting guidance within Liebherr’s worldwide mining division. Here, he shares his insights with us about navigating unplanned downtimes, the importance of guided troubleshooting and why, after looking at different options, he chose Dezide.

Can you talk about the disruption to your operations caused by unplanned downtimes?

From the aftersales point of view, we sell our products only if they are readily available. It has to be efficient, productive but readily available at the same time. Unplanned downtime is one of the worst things to happen to a mining operation. In mining, when you talk about unplanned downtime, it means direct production loss. It also means that you have trucks parked waiting for the machine to be fixed. Our idea was to put in place new systems and advanced solutions so we could minimize unscheduled downtime as much as possible.

How essential it is to have a reliable method of troubleshooting?

All businesses with large, global customers have to have a reliable method of troubleshooting. Liebherr works with very well-known customers that are based worldwide, and our customers expect a high level of quality and standards from their suppliers. That can be challenging especially when you work in very advanced countries and you sell your products in remote areas of the world, it’s difficult to get the same level of maintenance quality.

Why did you choose to go with Dezide?

Dezide had significant experience working with troubleshooting and knowledge management systems. They also have other major global customers in software and wind energy. For us the decision to go with Dezide was linked to the level of quality; we were sure that we could jump on this project with a high level of expertise. The other point is that they were running advanced algorithms which are usually not available in our business. The idea was to try to develop the system internally, but we didn’t want to do all of it ourselves. We knew we could partner with Dezide.

How long did it take to get the system up and running? What was the implementation process like?

We started the project internally at Liebherr in 2011 when we started to test several suppliers and technologies. We released the project in 2012 and after a year we started to develop content and users worldwide. Our first milestone was to get content in our system, and soon the system was a standout in our aftersales team.

What are some of the improvements and changes that you’ve noticed to your operations?

One of the major improvement areas we see is in employee training. We are convinced that in gaining a tool like Dezide, our technicians will do better maintenance. A new employee will be able to learn how to handle unplanned downtime much faster. They will be able to follow some standards that were not possible before. We know that metrics have improved and we have great feedback from the end users.

In the several years that we’ve worked with Dezide we’ve had a strong partnership with them. The success of our project internally is really driven by the flexibility and great team at Dezide. It’s definitely something that we appreciate.